NIck, I'm Mike LeBaron. I'm competing with a few other PolarTREC teachers to have the longest time between selection for a team (2010-2011) and actual deployment. My project is Antarctic Sub Glacial lakes - probably heading out in December 2012. But that's not why I jumped in here.
I'll be keeping track of your project because I want to get information on the ecosystem in which the spiders you are studying live, their habits, and their role in the Arctic Food chain/web. I teach AP Environmental Science in Mooresville, NC (not that far from your home) and this summer instead of going to cold places I'll be going to the Amazon Rain Forest for about 10 days - home of another predatory spider, the Tarantula. I'd like to have data that I can use with my students to let them compare and contrast the two areas. I hope your project gives me at least some of the data that will make that possible and will also help me focus on what I need to look for in the rain forest.
Have a great time - and remember, you don't have to worry about malaria up there!
Mike